1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a shielding terminal that can be accommodated in a connector housing and to a connector with such shielded terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known shielding terminal is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,150 and is identified by the numeral 1 in FIG. 22 herein. The shielding terminal 1 has a shell 2. An inner terminal 3 is connected with a core of a shielded wire W and is accommodated in the shielding shell 2. A dielectric element 4 is provided between the inner terminal 3 and the shielding shell 2. The shielding shell 2 of the shielding terminal 1 is formed with a locking claw 5 that is bent inwardly from a location forward of a rear end 6 of a ceiling wall to lock the dielectric element 4 inside the shielding shell 2. The formation of the locking claw 6 creates a recess 7 in the ceiling wall.
The shielding terminal 1 is used with a housing that has a cavity and a lock that projects into the cavity. The lock moves in sliding contact with the ceiling wall of the shielding shell 2 from the front end to a rear end 6 of the ceiling wall. The lock is deflected during the sliding contact with the ceiling wall of the shielding shell 2. However the lock is restored resiliently to its original shape after passing the rear end 6 of the ceiling wall and engages the rear end 6 of the ceiling wall to lock the shielding terminal 1 in the cavity.
The lock of the housing is likely to enter and get caught by the recess 7 during insertion of the shielding terminal 1 into the cavity. Thus, there is a possibility of increasing an insertion resistance of the shielding terminal 1.
The present invention was developed in view of the above problem, and an object thereof is to reduce an insertion resistance when a shielding terminal is inserted into a housing.
The invention is directed to a shielding terminal with an inner terminal configured for connection with a core of a shielded wire. A dielectric element is mounted over at least portions of the inner terminal. The shielding terminal also has a shielding shell with a main body that accommodates at least portions of the inner terminal and the dielectric element. The main body has a side surface formed with an engaging portion.
The shielding terminal is insertable into the cavity of a connector housing. The housing is formed with a lock that is deformed resiliently and slid along the side surface of the main body during an intermediate stage of insertion of the shielding terminal into the cavity. The lock then engages the engaging portion of the main body after the shielding terminal has been inserted to a proper insertion depth into the cavity.
A recess is formed in one side surface of the main body at a location before the engaging portion. Thus, the lock passes the recess during insertion of the shielding terminal into the cavity. However, the leading end of the lock is wider than the recess. Thus, the lock neither enters nor gets caught by the recess, and insertion resistance of the shielding terminal is low.
At least one locking claw preferably is formed in one side surface of the main body by cutting the side surface and bending the cut portion inwardly. The locking claw is configured for locking the dielectric element in the shielding shell. The recess may be formed by bending the locking claw.
The locking claw preferably has a base end that is substantially continuous with the main body and a distal end cantilevered from the main body. The distal end of the locking claw preferably is wider than the base end, and the distal end of the recess preferably is at least as wide as the distal end of the locking claw.
The invention also is directed to a shielded connector for connection with a shielded wire. The connector comprises a housing with at least one cavity, and at least one shielding terminal, as described above, is insertable into the cavity. The housing is formed with at least one resiliently deformable lock that interacts with the terminal fitting to lock the terminal fitting in the cavity. The lock passes the recess in the side surface of the shielding terminal during insertion of the shielding terminal into the cavity. However, the leading end of the lock is wider than the recess. Accordingly, the lock neither enters nor gets caught by the recess, and insertion resistance of the shielding terminal is low.
The lock is deformed resiliently and held in sliding contact with portions of the side surface of the shielding shell adjacent the recess during an intermediate stage of insertion of the shielding terminal into the cavity.
The main body preferably comprises an engaging portion at a position behind the recess. The engaging portion can engage the lock for locking the shielding terminal in the cavity, when the shielding terminal is inserted to proper depth.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings. It should be understood that even though embodiments are separately described, single features thereof may be combined to additional embodiments.